Conflict and Peace

Note: This and the previous writing should be considered in tandem.

For more than three decades, I was privileged to teach an array of courses in which the subjects of war, peace, and diplomacy were integral topics. The struggle between the alternatives of war and peace is almost as old as written history itself. The art of diplomacy entered as a player in this competition with the rise of the nation-state system in early modern times and in its traditional form was successful in maintaining the peace on many occasions. Now early in the twenty-first century, noteworthy diplomatic successes are apparently on the wane, and the increased insecurity among the nation-states is resulting in a world experiencing heightened tensions and growing incidents of conflict and war.

This situation is consistent with scriptural prophecies pertaining to the last days. Consider one: “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” (Matthew 24:6-13).

We live in that day as prophesied when nations and kingdoms have risen against their enemies to such an extent that wars in differing forms are being waged in every major portion of our world. Wars based on legal declarations are seemingly a thing of the past. Rarely does a nation or smaller political entity involved in a conflict today admit to being the aggressor. It is apparently more politically justifiable and morally satisfying for a nation or party to claim that it is fighting from a defensive stance. Of course, the opposition is portraying a similar position to its citizens and to the world community in the hopes of gaining domestic and international support for its cause. Almost always, not being branded the aggressive party is the intent of this ruse.

The Lord’s expressed will to His prophets both in Book of Mormon and in modern times is that offensive war or aggression is unjustifiable before Him. The armies of Alma and Moroni were taught God’s will that “[i]nasmuch as ye are not guilty of the first offense, neither the second, ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the hands of your enemies” (Alma 43:46). Thus they were justified in defending their families, lands, country, rights and religion (Alma 43:47) but were “never to give an offense, yea, and never to raise the sword except it were against an enemy, except it were to preserve their lives” (Alma 48:14). For a time, the Prophet Mormon refused to command the Nephite army because of its firmness of determination to take aggressive action against its enemy, the Lamanites (Mormon 3:9-11). The Saints in Missouri were unsuccessful in establishing Zion because of their disobedience to God’s will, and so they brought down upon their heads the wrath of God. Their response to the resulting persecution by their enemies was to begin looking for opportunities to retaliate. The Lord’s counsel to them was to “renounce war and proclaim peace” (Doctrine and Covenants 98:16). Not many verses later, the Lord outlined the very limited conditions upon which even defensive action has been justifiable to Him historically (D&C 98:32-38).

There is no national government in the world today that is seeking to do the will of the one true God in fact, and that does not bode well for the membership of His world-wide Church. We are no longer a relatively small band of Saints taking shelter from the abuses of our government in the shadows of the Wasatch Mountains. Our members are to be found in ever-increasing numbers in nations across the face of the earth. As more and more governments stray further and further from the principles of the gospel and God’s will as to the proper relationships that should exist among His children, the disparity in actions and beliefs between the righteous and the unrighteous will become more and more difficult for the righteous to reconcile. For as the Lord told the Saints who failed in Missouri, “when the wicked rule the people mourn” (D&C 98:9).

Looking to the last days, the Lord told His disciples in the Holy Land that some future Saints would be afflicted and killed by their enemies (Matthew 24:9). Thousands of Saints who lived earlier in this dispensation suffered those fates. We may take heart that most of our membership appears to be at least tolerated if not accepted or possibly even well received by their neighbors today, but what does the future hold for us, His Saints, given that we live in such desperately varied social, economic, and political circumstances scattered as we are as a minority among the world’s national and tribal populations?

Given the increasing wickedness upon the earth, we have little hope in the long run that the governments of the world will switch courses on their own and begin adhering to God’s will for His children. We must prepare ourselves as best we can for whatever trouble may come our way. Consistent with these circumstances, we ought to pray for patience in dealing with those who would do us personal harm. When the Saints in Missouri failed to establish Zion as they were commanded to do, the Lord explained why they were persecuted. They had not followed the Lord’s commandments and their leaders’ directions. Therefore, they were not worthy of His protection (D&C 101:1-8). In times ahead when worsening conditions may become more prevalent and some members of His Church may find themselves under personal duress, we may hope that they will have taken to heart the experiences of the Saints who lived in the Americas during Book of Mormon times as well as those who lived in nineteenth-century Missouri. God expects us to place our trust in Him and not upon an arm of flesh (2 Nephi 4:34).

There is no reason to hope that peace will reign generally on this earth at any future time until the wicked are destroyed at the Lord’s coming as He ushers in the Millennium. But we Saints should understand that peace is possible now within ourselves as well as within our families and the expanding Kingdom of God. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the gospel of peace. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).